Usda

The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Friday designated 36 counties in Indiana as primary natural disaster areas because of losses caused by extreme drought. Marshall, St. Joseph, Kosciusko, Elkhart, LaGrange, Pulaski and Fulton counties are included in that designation. Farm operators in 19 counties, including LaPorte and Starke, also qualify for natural disaster assistance because their counties are contiguous to the designated counties. All qualified farm operators in the designated areas are eligible for low-interest emergency loans from the Farm Service Agency, provided eligibility requirements are met. Farmers in eligible counties have eight months from the date of the declaration to apply for loans to help cover part of their actual losses.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Friday designated 36 counties in Indiana as primary natural disaster areas because of losses caused by extreme drought. Marshall, St. Joseph, Kosciusko, Elkhart, LaGrange, Pulaski and Fulton counties are included in that designation. Farm operators in 19 counties, including LaPorte and Starke, also qualify for natural disaster assistance because their counties are contiguous to the designated counties. All qualified farm operators in the designated areas are eligible for low-interest emergency loans from the Farm Service Agency, provided eligibility requirements are met. Farmers in eligible counties have eight months from the date of the declaration to apply for loans to help cover part of their actual losses.

A new, paper-thin wrap made from fruits and vegetables could soon add more than flavor to your food; it may also protect you from E. coli, salmonella and other food-borne illnesses. These brightly colored, filmlike sheets, each of which provides about a quarter-serving of fruit or vegetables, come in a variety of flavors, from apple and blueberry to carrot, broccoli and tomato. They're already appearing on restaurant menus -- wrapped around sushi, for example -- through a cooperative research and development agreement with Origami Foods and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

On Monday, May 8, Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns took the Bush administration's first formal step toward the 2007 Farm Bill. The small move arrived in the form of a lengthy white paper titled "Risk Management. " It is the first of several "2007 Farm Bill Theme Papers," the secretary noted, he will release in the run-up to the legislative debate. The foundation-laying papers, explained Johanns, are "not to suggest policy but to inform and educate the public .... My hope is that this analysis will help focus our national conversation as we work with Congress to develop future farm policy.

Farmers looking to sell to their communities, families who want to support them or someone who just likes perusing tents of sunflowers and produce on Saturday mornings have plenty of opportunities in the Great Lakes area. Half of the top 10 states with the greatest number of farmers markets are in the Great Lakes region, according to the 2010 USDA National Farmers Market Directory. The directory released last month shows 6,132 farmers markets across the country. Many of the highest totals belong to Great Lake states.

Farmers looking to sell to their communities, families who want to support them or someone who just likes perusing tents of sunflowers and produce on Saturday mornings have plenty of opportunities in the Great Lakes area. Half of the top 10 states with the greatest number of farmers markets are in the Great Lakes region, according to the 2010 USDA National Farmers Market Directory. The directory released last month shows 6,132 farmers markets across the country. Many of the highest totals belong to Great Lake states.

When the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced the discovery of the nation's first mad cow in late December 2003, consumers and ranchers were met by a government search-and-destroy blitz worthy of war. Where had this cow been born? Where had it been? Where were its siblings, herdmates, offspring? Contrast that breathless effort with news March 13 that USDA had confirmed the nation's third case of mad cow. USDA was coolly professional; it knew exactly what to look for and where. Consumers never even hiccupped while ordering their next Big Mac. That difference -- or indifference -- is being mirrored in the slog towards a National Animal Identification System.

Although I have previously written about the grandparent scam, I feel it is imperative that I write about it once again as it is currently so prevalent in our area. The grandparent scam is when a phone call is received from someone claiming to be a family member stranded far from home. The caller may use the name of a particular family member. They say they are being charged and held for some crime, need car repairs or some other assistance, but money always has to be wired immediately.

ST. LOUIS -- Food prices could rise more slowly next year because farmers have a bigger surplus of corn on hand than previously thought. The Department of Agriculture estimated Wednesday that farmers have 206 million more bushels of surplus corn on hand at the start of this year's harvest. That means farmers will have 866 million bushels of corn on hand at the end of next summer, which is higher than last month's forecast of 672 million bushels. The price of corn fell 15 cents, or 2 percent, in morning trading to $6.30 a bushel.

GREENSBURG, Ind. -- The 32-acre animal reserve known as Stapp's Circle S Ranch is purring along since it added a lion cub to its lineup of animals. Animal trainer Josie Clark told the Greensburg Daily News business has improved since the cub arrived in late July. Stapp's plans to eventually mate the cub with an adult male lion named Jogga. The male lion was rescued from an owner who could no longer raise him after tornadoes hit southern Indiana in March. Visitors can touch the cub now but won't be able to once it reaches 12 weeks of age in mid-September.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Friday designated 36 counties in Indiana as primary natural disaster areas because of losses caused by extreme drought. Marshall, St. Joseph, Kosciusko, Elkhart, LaGrange, Pulaski and Fulton counties are included in that designation. Farm operators in 19 counties, including LaPorte and Starke, also qualify for natural disaster assistance because their counties are contiguous to the designated counties. All qualified farm operators in the designated areas are eligible for low-interest emergency loans from the Farm Service Agency, provided eligibility requirements are met. Farmers in eligible counties have eight months from the date of the declaration to apply for loans to help cover part of their actual losses.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Friday designated 36 counties in Indiana as primary natural disaster areas because of losses caused by extreme drought. Marshall, St. Joseph, Kosciusko, Elkhart, LaGrange, Pulaski and Fulton counties are included in that designation. Farm operators in 19 counties, including LaPorte and Starke, also qualify for natural disaster assistance because their counties are contiguous to the designated counties. All qualified farm operators in the designated areas are eligible for low-interest emergency loans from the Farm Service Agency, provided eligibility requirements are met. Farmers in eligible counties have eight months from the date of the declaration to apply for loans to help cover part of their actual losses.

Although I have previously written about the grandparent scam, I feel it is imperative that I write about it once again as it is currently so prevalent in our area. The grandparent scam is when a phone call is received from someone claiming to be a family member stranded far from home. The caller may use the name of a particular family member. They say they are being charged and held for some crime, need car repairs or some other assistance, but money always has to be wired immediately.

ST. LOUIS -- Food prices could rise more slowly next year because farmers have a bigger surplus of corn on hand than previously thought. The Department of Agriculture estimated Wednesday that farmers have 206 million more bushels of surplus corn on hand at the start of this year's harvest. That means farmers will have 866 million bushels of corn on hand at the end of next summer, which is higher than last month's forecast of 672 million bushels. The price of corn fell 15 cents, or 2 percent, in morning trading to $6.30 a bushel.

Farmers looking to sell to their communities, families who want to support them or someone who just likes perusing tents of sunflowers and produce on Saturday mornings have plenty of opportunities in the Great Lakes area. Half of the top 10 states with the greatest number of farmers markets are in the Great Lakes region, according to the 2010 USDA National Farmers Market Directory. The directory released last month shows 6,132 farmers markets across the country. Many of the highest totals belong to Great Lake states.

Farmers looking to sell to their communities, families who want to support them or someone who just likes perusing tents of sunflowers and produce on Saturday mornings have plenty of opportunities in the Great Lakes area. Half of the top 10 states with the greatest number of farmers markets are in the Great Lakes region, according to the 2010 USDA National Farmers Market Directory. The directory released last month shows 6,132 farmers markets across the country. Many of the highest totals belong to Great Lake states.

CASSOPOLIS -- Residents in many rural areas will soon have access to broadband services through their power lines, thanks to a new program funded by $50 million in loans from the U. S. Department of Agriculture. U.S. Rep. Fred Upton, R-St. Joseph, announced Monday at a news conference at the Midwest Energy Cooperative in Cassopolis the funding will build a Midwest consortium to launch broadband over power lines to rural counties in six states. The cooperative has partnered with International Broadband Electric Communications to apply for the loan, Upton said, adding that already more than 4,000 households in southwest Michigan have signed up for the service.